Sam McCaig's blog

The stars get the big bucks during the UFA frenzy, but don't forget about the lesser lights who can be the difference between winning and losing. Marians Hossa and Gaborik, big Jay Bouwmeester, the brothers Sedin…there are several interesting options on the market as the NHL's unrestricted free agency period opens on July 1.

It was the two goalies who stole the show in Game 1 of the Eastern final... and the storylines to watch between the Canes and Pens. Maybe Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Ward just got tired about all the Crosby-Malkin-Staal-Staal talk.
Because while the stars turned out for Game 1 between Pittsburgh and Carolina, it was the goaltenders for the Penguins and Hurricanes who stole the show.

The Bruins are finally playing like the East's best team and were in control of Game 6 all along... and updating a few rivalries. Whatever you do, don't poke the bear.
And if you do, you better finish the job quickly because this is one bear that fights back with great ferocity.

Marian Hossa, Johan Franzen came to play and reuniting a powerful first line helped lift the Wings to a decisive Game 4 win. The Detroit Red Wings finally burst Jonas Hiller's bubble – and Marian Hossa burst out in a big way, too.
Hossa, with his third and fourth of the playoffs, scored twice on Hiller in a three-minute span late in the second period to spot the desperate Red Wings a 4-2 lead they wouldn't relinquish en route to a 6-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

The Luongo-Byfuglien crease war rages on... One steady Edler?... and who will go to the dirty areas? Well, Kyle, would. Three games in, here's a three-storyline look at the Canucks-Blackhawks second round playoff series:
Roberto Luongo vs. Dustin Byfuglien
So far, this is the story of the series.

The Ducks got better play from their top-liners and surprising play from their grinders. This and more is why they upset San Jose. It happened again.
Another great-regular-season-and-out for the San Jose Sharks.
In a shocker that's sure to shake the foundations in San Jose, the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks completed their upset of the NHL's best team in the regular season with a convincing 4-1 win in Game 6.

After a dominating performance in Game 6, Washington heads home looking to complete the comeback from a 3-1 deficit. Game 7, anyone?
It didn't take Washington long to establish the need for one more contest in the Round 1 affair between the Capitals and Rangers.

The Sharks started well, but by the end of the game Anaheim's youth, tough 'D' and talented goalie came out on top. For the third time in four games, Anaheim's No. 1 line dramatically outplayed San Jose's top unit.
And the Ducks have the 3-1 series lead to prove it.

There are a plethora of positives for the Canucks coming out of their first round sweep of the St. Louis Blues. That was easy.
The Vancouver Canucks couldn’t have asked for a more straightforward, check-in and check-out playoff series than its four-game sweep of the St.

Thanks to Roberto Luongo and inspired play the Canucks take a 3-0 series lead... and Brodeur misses out on a record he doesn't want. First of all, full disclosure: I was at an American League playoff Game 3 between the Toronto Marlies and the Manitoba Moose – won 2-1 by the Marlies on Tim Stapleton's Darryl Sittler-esque goal (think 1976 Canada Cup final, overtime, against Czechoslovakia and goalie Vladimir Dzurilla) – and I wasn't able to start watching the Vancouver-St.

According to this rundown of six important playoff items, the red-hot Vancouver Canucks could give the favorite Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks a run for their money in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. Breaking news, hockey fans: There’s an NHL playoff checklist in existence. And if your team can check off the six items on the list, you’re guaranteed a Stanley Cup victory and mid-June parade.

We hate to spoil the surprise, but a little number crunching reveals who's destined for the dance and who will be heading home. As the NHL schedule heads into the final week of the regular season, The League That Parity Built has a logjam of teams vying for the final playoff berths in each conference.